I am going over the head of the Superintendant of my local school. All my requests about the coach have been disregarded. I think they think I'll dry up and go away. Here coaches are gods. I worship no god but the One. Any suggestions as to where to send my letter? I am attaching the two letters: one to the School board which was ignored and one to ???
I am needing to speak with you about a problem I am having with XXXX Public Schools. I am enclosing a letter I sent to the school board and Superintendent. First, let me tell you what I have done .
I tried to talk to the coach, but he said he was busy coaching. Then, I called his school, but have never received an answer as the phone is always busy. I, then, called the Superintendent’s office and left a message. I received no call in return. I called again, and was offered his voice mail. This time I did not leave a message, but asked to be put on the School Board’s calendar. That was August 22. I never received a call back from the Superintendent’s secretary, with whom I did leave a message asking for a return call, and requesting a date and time for the school board meeting.
My daughter has quit, but the school’s total disregard for my concern for the safety and well being of all the children, not just my own, proves to me that this matter needs to be pursued. This is disrespect on so many levels. I have taught for the last fourteen years and am certified in both English and Spanish. I am aware that my actions will forever mean I will not get hired in my hometown; however, despite the sacred position of a winning coach, I believe our children’s health and well being should be paramount. I await your help in this matter as I have received none from XXXXX Schools. I will not rest until this man is disciplined and policies change. I have spoken to many parents on this subject, and I assure you, I am not alone. Other parents were not there that day. I was the only parent. I want parents to know with what disregard and disrespect the public is treated by the XXXXXX Public Schools.
Letter to the School board and Superintentdant.
August 13, 2007
I am writing in regards to Coach X. I’m not sure of the spelling of his name. I am the parent of a thirteen year old in the seventh grade. She wanted to play softball. I bought all the required equipment and spent about $300. 00 to outfit her. After about three practices, she complained that the heat was making her sick. I was disappointed but allowed her to quit. After four practices, she said the coach said she could come back. I didn’t think she should after she quit, but she promised she’d stay. I told her she had to do as the coach directed. So she went back to practice. He told her she’d have to run laps. It was 4:00pm in the afternoon and the temperature was 103 degrees. She came to me crying. I told her to start running with an ice pack. She ran one lap, and as she passed the coach, he didn’t stop hitting balls, and I thought he might hit her. She told me later that the coach yelled, “Run, Summer.” She thought he meant to hit her with the ball. I think he came too close to hitting my daughter even if he didn’t say anything. I called her off the field. She had a headache and her stomach hurt. These are both signs of heat exhaustion. I took my daughter home and gave her plenty to drink and packed her head with ice. I want to know if the school is in agreement with the coach and will this man be allowed to continue with his methods?
I have taught for 14 years, and I know the system well. Here’s what I tried before taking this action. First, I asked to speak to the coach, but he told my daughter he was busy coaching. Then, I tried to call the school where he worked to speak to him or his principal, but I got no answer. I called all day Thursday. Then, I called the superintendent and left a message to be called back, and I waited four days, but still no response. I am now asking you for your response. I will do what is necessary to see that this man is disciplined. Please respond or I would like to speak before the Board in September.
No one loves the sport of baseball more than I; however, the lives and health of our children are more important, and I hope you agree.
Sincerely,
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Comments: 36
I can't believe that. When it was too hot to run outside, our coach had us running in the pool indoors....(I was a cross country runner)
No school wants bad press.
I played both high school soccer and tennis. Practice was from 3:30PM to 5:00 for tennis and 3:30PM to 6:30PM for soccer. I live in Phoenix so a 103 degree afternoon was a godsend. It was always from 105-112 out when we started. The tennis courts were always blazing. Soccer was worse. We had to practice an HOUR longer than the football team because we had to be able to run more. It was brutal. But you should have seen how tough we were against those namby-pambies from Denver and LA!
People can be so dumb. It is sad that he didn't deal with it in a better way. It probably meant the world to her and with his attitude she couldn't continue.
My younger son has epilepsy and my younger daughter has a learning disability. With my son when he went to summer school, they didn't want him to get a bus at the normal spot near our home. He couldn't go far in the heat with the medicine he was on. When I got them the paperwork from the neurologist so they would pick him up at the regular spot, they then wanted to bus him an hour early to summer school. I was told he could wait in the auditorium for the hour. He went to get more credits to make up for the year he wasn't diagnosed and failed some classes in when we lived in Pa. I pointed out they wouldn't do this to a child in a wheelchair and I raised a fuss. They suddenly found a bus that he would get there when the class started.
The school in Pa did not tell me what signs they were seeing at school and decided he was using drugs and had a meeting to tell us their concerns. He was not using drugs, he was having absent seizures. I knew he wasn't on drugs. I had told his doctor months before, I thought he was having seizures and she didn't believe me and wouldn't give me the referral that our insurance company required for him to see a specialist. If the school had told me I could have asked for a letter describing what they saw, he would have gotten diagnosed a year earlier as that would have convinced her with other I guess, more credible witnesses.
I played field hockey and we would train in the summer. I had asthma and didn't know it. I was having problems breathing and had to stop during practice. The coach thought I was being an *ss because I stopped running. She dismissed the others and told me to run laps. I walked off the field and walked home. When I went back to the next practice she didn't bring it up. I didn't get diagnosed until I was a grown up and it got worse. I didn't know what was happening to me, I would be be coughing up mucus and breathing was difficult with sharp pains on inhaling. It happened on occassion but I would stay still and try to be calm until it passed. People too often think it is attitude not a real health problem.
I would make a fuss but imply you question his motives. You have to be careful in that area! Good Luck!
Also, A letter to the Editor, certainly would get some attention.
Do the same to the News Editor if you don't get satisfaction.
Without witness and their statements you open yourself up to big time law suits.
I do agree that the health comes first and it seems he ignored that.
One thing that I noticed right away is that a person skim-reading your letters might get the impression that they were written by some unknowledgeable parent spouting off a bunch of malarkey, with no more interest than intent to stir up trouble.
On the surface, there is nothing particularly atrocious about having the athletes run at a temperature of 103°F, if that's the condition under which they would be playing an actual game. After all, running is part of the game. Also, having baseballs flying though the air is consistent with the environment on the field during a game.
However, looking a little more closely, the letter states that the coach is "hitting" the balls, not throwing them - a condition that would not be present when a player is running. With that distinction, it becomes apparent that the coach is neglecting his duties as a coach. It doesn't take an expert to see that the coach's primary responsibility is the student athletes. It should be especially his responsibility, in adverse conditions like the one you described, to see that his students are not unduly succumbing to ill effects. Shouldn't he be making sure that everyone is taking adequate steps to prepare for and deal with the conditions at hand? Shouldn't he be observing his students, looking for signs that they might be running into physical trouble (like heat exhaustion) and stepping in to alleviate the situation when needed?
Perhaps your letter should have delved more into the coach's failure to take reasonable steps to prepare the athletes for the heat and his ignorance of his students while they were on an exercise.
I agree that if you can get more parents involved as witnesses and document specific incidents of neglect you would have a much stronger case to go with.